Let’s talk about digital distress

Looking out for the ‘digital frontline’

For journalists, the drumbeat of distressing news — war, the erosion of democracy, and a stream of stories about Jeffrey Epstein and child sex trafficking — can take its toll. We know those on the front lines are susceptible to mental health challenges like post-traumatic stress disorder, which deserve serious attention.

But a journalism expert in the UK argues that the impact can also be difficult for those who review and edit such stories in newsrooms. “Often it is younger journalists, working long shifts monitoring online images, who are the most affected by what has been called the ‘digital frontline’,” writes Richard Sambrook, an emeritus professor of journalism at Cardiff University in a new piece for The Conversation.

He cited a survey of newsrooms by Cardiff and the International News Safety Institute in which more than three-quarters of respondents were aware of staff suffering PTSD. All of them saw an increased potential for trauma to affect newsrooms’ staffs.

Here at API, we share the concern about the “whole” of the newsroom, in addition to helping those covering the violence on the front lines stay safe physically and mentally. One challenge our senior vice president, Sam Ragland, has identified is putting a name to the various mental health challenges that newsrooms face, such as trauma, moral injury or burnout.

Someone who reads disturbing stories all day or chooses images from a violent event might be more susceptible than we think to vicarious trauma and the mental health challenges that result from it. She uses this deck to help people in newsrooms identify exactly what they may be experiencing.

“It’s important to have the right language for how the hazards of journalism are impacting us. Without that, we run the risk of creating interventions or remedies for the wrong thing,” Sam says. “I always encourage journalists to use three words when they talk to each other about their well-being: ‘tell me more’, which often unlocks the details we need to respond accordingly to a colleague or direct report during a mentally taxing news cycle.”

If you’d like to talk more about this, Sam is hosting a half-hour well-being drop-in call for journalists next week. You can join via her Calendly.

• Related: Minnesota Journalism Center aims to help reporters connect to resources and community in difficult times (WTIP)
• Bookmark this: The Media Resilience Network offers a hotline, counseling, training and other resources — all free for journalists.

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> 3 tips to help you cover opinion polling during the 2026 elections (Journalist’s Resource) 

Clark Merrefield captures takeaways from two webinars that The Journalist’s Resource held on covering opinion polls. Kathleen Weldon, director of data operations at the Roper Center, discussed three tips for journalists writing about polls. Among them: It’s important to be clear with readers about a poll’s methodology. “What we push over and over again is transparency, transparency, transparency,” Weldon said.

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Culture & Inclusion

>> Coalition of 41 press-freedom groups calls for immediate release of Nashville-based journalist arrested by ICE (Free Press) 

A coalition of 41 press-freedom groups demanded that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) release journalist Estefany Rodríguez, a Colombian-born reporter who has been in ICE custody since being arrested last week. “Rodríguez’s detention is part of a broader erosion of democratic norms and human rights in the United States in which immigration authorities are increasingly being used to chill free expression and First Amendment rights,” the coalition said.

• Plus: Nashvillians, press organizations call for Este fany Rodríguez’s release; Judge sets hearing (Nashville Banner)

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Community Engagement & Trust

>>  YouTube expands deepfake detection tool to politicians and journalists (Axios)

A select group of journalists, government officials and political candidates will have access to a new deepfake detection tool, YouTube announced Tuesday. The technology “scans videos uploaded to the platform for content that appears to use someone’s likeness, namely their face,” writes Kerry Flynn. She reported that YouTube did not share who will have access to the pilot, which will require identity verification and a video selfie.

>> Who’s a better writer: A.I. or humans? Take our quiz. (The New York Times)

Amid the debate over whether AI can write better than humans, Kevin Roose and Stuart A. Thompson have come up with a quiz that allows you to decide — choosing between passages written by a human and by AI.

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Revenue & Resilience

>> Politico founder plots new Washington newspaper war (Semafor)

With The Washington Post shrinking, Robert Allbritton has discussed significantly expanding his NOTUS outlet, reports Max Tani. “The publication could replicate some of the success of Politico by launching an events and pricey subscription business,” writes Tani, who also cites filings showing that NOTUS Media has filed an application to trademark the name The Washington Sun.

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What else you need to know

💼 USA Today names Jamie Stockwell as next top editor (The New York Times)

🔏 Trump is using immigration policy to suppress speech, lawsuit claims (NPR)

🚔 This Wyoming newspaper ditched its police blotter (Poynter)

📈 AP Fund for Journalism expands landmark local news program to 100 newsrooms (The Associated Press)

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